The Truth about Skye
by Agent Anna Rose
Summary: Since joining S.H.I.E.L.D., Skye has dealt with so many different things. But things become crazier when she learns that Coulson and May are her birth parents. She starts having feelings for Ward and maybe he has feelings for her, too. As always, Centipede gets more powerful when they gain a new ally, Miles Lydon. Even Fitzsimmons are realizing their feelings for each other.
1. Chapter 1

"Why didn't you tell me?" Coulson was angry and May could tell.

"What could you have done if you'd known? You couldn't have taken care of her!" May said loudly and with more passion in her voice than Coulson had ever heard before.

"I had a right to know," Coulson said, still in shock.

"And now you do," May said, staying bitterly calm.

"I know because of the file. Were you ever going to tell me?" Coulson asked, looking down at the newly unredacted file and back up at May.

"It would've only hurt you. It wasn't your decision, anyways."

"It's my daughter, too!" Coulson said, louder and more defensively. May rolled her eyes, as if this kind of behavior was childish.

"Well, then, be my guest. Go tell your daughter everything."

"What…? She doesn't," Coulson faltered.

"If telling everyone the truth is so important, why don't you go tell her right now?"

"We can't… it'll only hurt her," Coulson said.

"That's what I mean. I protected you from the truth for your own good. You understand why we have to never tell Skye, right?"

"Yes, but…"

The door opened. Coulson and May both turned, seeing the girl standing in front of them. They could see fire behind her eyes.

"What can't I know?" Skye asked quietly, masking the anger within.

"Classified," May said.

"You have to tell me the truth," Skye begged.

"I'm sorry, but we can't," May said bluntly.

"A few months ago, with Miles, I kept something from you and now I have a tag on my wrist. Why does that rule only apply to me?"

"It's for your own good," Coulson tried.

"It's you, isn't it? You know I'm ready but for whatever selfish reason you have, you won't tell me."

"Skye-" said Coulson.

"I'm going to stay here until you tell me."

"I'm going to sedate you," May said calmly. Skye just stood in the doorway. "If you don't leave us alone right now, I swear."

"Good," Skye said, "Do it then."

In a second, Skye fell to the ground. Coulson looked surprised and worried and May shook her head.


	2. Chapter 2

"There's something that they're not telling me about!" Skye said, fiddling around with the holographic computer in the middle of the lab.

"Stop it – stop that," Fitz said, trying to control his OCD. "You can't touch that!" Fitz slapped Skye's hand off of the table.

"Fitz, shut up," Simmons said. "Skye is having a real problem!"

"Someday I'll go to Hogwarts and then, you know what Fitz? Then I'll be able to mess with your stupid table all day," Skye said, sticking her tongue out at Fitz, but laughing as well.

"Saying that you actually did graduate the academy, you'd still have to take three more courses to be able to use this," Fitz pointed out.

"I was kidding," Skye laughed, "I can just sneak in here at night and mess with everything."

"Anyway," Simmons said, controlling her laughter. "What are you going to do about it?"

"I'm not sure. I'm going to get answers some way, but I haven't figured it out yet."

"I can help you if you want," Simmons said smiling. Ever since the visit to the Hub, Simmons thought breaking rules was thrilling.

"Uh, no," Skye said, laughing kindly. "If I need a really bad diversion, though, I'll call you." Skye smiled at the pair and left the lab, deep in thought.

"Oh, uh, okay," Simmons said, looking a bit hurt.

"Don't worry about that," Fitz said, smiling awkwardly. "I like girls who play by the rules."

Fitz thought that no one could hear the last part but Simmons smiled softly as she went back to work on the holographic computer.


	3. Chapter 3

"Grant – they're – keeping – something – from – me," Skye said, in between punches.

"Yeah, I know," Ward said, looking at Skye but not really paying attention to what she said. He was really surprised at how far she'd come in the months she'd been working for Shield. At first, getting her to train had been a hassle and she was always whining, but now she was down in the gym early each morning. Ward liked to imagine that she was there for more reasons than just to train… but that wasn't the sort of thing that a good SO should be thinking about.

"You know?" Skye asked, stopping what she was doing to look at Ward.

"No," Ward said quickly, "I guess I was just distracted."

"You're distracted," Skye said, laughing, "The robot is actually distracted! What could possibly be going on?"

"Nothing," Ward said defensively. "Keep punching."

Skye rolled her eyes but kept punching. Ward couldn't keep his mind off of her. She was beautiful, but more than that she was funny and a great agent.

"Why are you smiling?" Skye asked, smiling herself.

"Uh, no reason," Ward said, not realizing, "Training's over."

"See ya later," Skye said, skipping out. Ward sat down, trying to figure out his feelings for her. There was no question now about whether or not he liked her – he did. But what did she think of him? It would be horribly embarrassing to be rejected by a girl who lives in the same claustrophobic plane as he did.

After leaving training, Skye went to Coulson's office. She had to gather up all of her courage to do it and had been thinking it over for a few days. There was a small part of her brain that wanted to just trust Coulson and take his word for it. However, the more radical part of Skye's brain, the part she tended to act on, needed to get this information. Skye was about to barge through the door, except for the fact that she could hear Coulson and May arguing again. Skye decided to listen at the door and promised herself that she wouldn't barge in so she wouldn't get sedated by May again.

"We've got to tell her soon," Coulson said.

"We don't have to tell her anything," May said.

"She'll find out eventually," Coulson said, "She's a hacker, remember."

Skye felt herself tense up, there was no doubt now that she was the subject of their conversation.

"As long as she's got that bracelet on we'll know if she's hacking it."

"I want her to hear it from us. She'll only hate us if we let her find it out later," Coulson argued, sounding desperate now. Skye was confused about that, Coulson was supposed to be the leader of this team. Why was May so involved?

Skye heard the door start to open and she ran into the kitchen. She wouldn't have admitted it to anyone, but May was actually really scary. Skye listened near the entrance of the kitchen until she was sure that May had left. Breathing deeply, Skye went into Coulson's office. The door was open.

"I could hear you," Skye said blatantly. "What do you have to tell me?"

"Nothing," Coulson said weakly. "We weren't-"

"I could hear you," Skye repeated, firmly this time. "Are you going to outwardly lie to me?"

"I can't-"

"What do you mean you can't tell me?" Skye said.

"Skye, it's classified."

"That's what you said before, when Fitz and Ward almost died!"

"Skye, trust me!"

"That's what you always say! You always say you're trying to help me but you never actually are. I'm done with all of this Shield shit." Skye started to leave the room, ready to get off the plane when it next stopped and live in her van again.

"Skye… wait," Coulson said, breathing deeply and trying to think fast before his words came out. "Skye, uh, a lot of things happened twenty one years ago and, uh, May and I… well, we're your parents."

Hi, do you guys like it? Please, please, please review! Reviews make me happy and happiness means more chapters quicker. Thanks to everyone who follows me, favorited the story and who reviewed it! I plan on writing more and posting at least one more chapter tomorrow. – Anna


	4. Get a sneak peek!

**Want a Sneak Peek of Chapter 4?**

It's easy. Just answer all of these questions in the comments and I will email you Chapter 4.

What's your opinion of the story (rating 1-10)?

What do you want to happen?

Are the characters okay?

What's your favorite part?

What's something I do well and/or something I need to improve on?

Your email address, so I can send you the chapter

THANKS!


	5. Chapter 4

**Hi! It's Anna! Thanks to everyone who reviewed and if you got the sneak peek; that was only half of the chapter so there is still some new stuff for you! Just to let you know, sometimes doesn't load my story correctly, so it looks like there isn't the right amount of chapters or something so just keep checking in, I like to write at least one chapter a day.**

"What?" Skye said. It was a simple, one syllable word but it carried so much meaning. It broke the silence that had enveloped the room. It was said quietly, but angrily as well, a sad sort of anger. It said so many words that Skye could not.

"Listen, Skye," Coulson begged, but it meant far more than that. It was a way of telling Skye that he was sorry, that this was not his idea, nor his fault.

For a while, the two were speechless, trying to analyze the three word conversation. They stared into the other's eyes. It was not menacing, they were merely trying to understand.

"Why?" Skye asked, her voice breaking as her heart fell (OFF A BUILDING sorry Sherlock joke). It was barely louder than a whisper and suggested that tears would be soon to follow. Skye never, never showed weakness to anybody, so she ran out of the room before the tears could start flowing.

Coulson started to get up but realized that he had never been a father before. He suddenly felt so oblivious to the world that was outside of his work. He couldn't do anything… he had no idea how to do anything. It was terrifying to him and he wanted to just shut himself in his office until the conflict had passed but that wouldn't get anything done and he knew it. He left the office, his legs forcing him to do something that his mind wasn't so sure of.

"Skye?" he called, unsure of where she had gone. "Uh, where are you?" he didn't want anyone else to know what was going on until he had talked to Skye, especially not May.

But it's always kind of funny how luck works, because May just happened to come out from the kitchen, which was right next to his office. If the door is open, which it was, it's very easy to hear everything that is said in there.

"What the hell did you do?" May asked, in a menacing voice that Coulson had never thought could come from her.

"Melinda, I had to," Coulson said, trying to believe he had done the right thing. Although the glare that May was giving him right now made him worry far more about his life than the ethics of what he had just done.

"You didn't," May said, "You really, really didn't. Did you see her face? She'll never think of us as parents. We're not prepared for this and neither is she."

"She knew we were hiding something. It wasn't fair to leave her in the dark like that." May glared at him. "You know, I'm supposed to be the one in charge of this team."

"Then why don't you start taking charge!" May yelled, storming off.

All of her life, Skye had been alone. She's never had anyone to talk to about her problems. One of the things that hurt her most about knowing all of this now was that she definitely would never parents to confide in. May and Coulson aren't parents. There's a huge difference between adults with children and parents, it was a lesson Skye had learned and seen others learn more times than she had ever wanted to.

Of all the things she'd ever dreamed about her parents, it had never been this. She had dreamed of being the daughter of a nice couple in a nice house with a white picket fence and grass as green as the Emerald City, of running around with her family in the summer time, splashing around and having water fights and doing the same with snow in the winter. Around the time she turned fourteen, a young Skye had realized that this kind of life was rare, even for home kids. Her dreams became more realistic, just to have someone to call mom, someone who truly cares and someone who wants her. Somehow, it's more heartbreaking when you realize that your logical, down-to-earth, realistic dreams won't ever come true.

There were nightmares, too. Skye had dreams where her parents had been brutally murdered, or they were criminals or they were just horrible people who had given her up for good reason. Somehow, this situation was so much worse. Skye had grown to like these people, even love them. Skye had only truly loved one other person. But it was horrible, thinking that you'll have to face the people who abandoned you every day for hours. To Skye, the scariest part was wondering if this would be just like all of the foster homes. Being a foster kid, Skye never hoped for too much or enjoyed anything or anyone because she knew too well just how easily everything could be taken away.

"Skye…" she heard someone say. Skye didn't want to talk to anyone. She just flopped face down on the bed, groaning quietly to herself. "I-I know you're in there. I need to talk to you. Skye, we'll have this talk sometime, so shouldn't it be now?" It was May, but she sounded weaker and more vulnerable than ever before. Skye couldn't tell immediately, but her mother's voice shook and if she had seen her, she would've seen eyes as red as her own. But Skye was stubborn. "Please… I need to make things right."

"Go away," Skye muttered, but the pillow that held all of her tears muffled it. May could tell what she meant.

"There are two moments I see every day," May said, her voice becoming stronger. It wasn't shaking anymore, but it was still vulnerable, not like the agent that had sedated her and so many others. "They haunt me but they drive me to do what I do. It is what I saw when I picked up that Asguardian sword so long ago. The reason I wasn't affected by it is because I see the moment I left you every second since it happened. If you're not ready to talk, please, will you just listen?"

**Thanks for reading! Please review! I tried to work on all of your critiques so tell me in the comments how I did! I always love reading your beautiful reviews and they motivate me to write faster :D**

Anna


	6. Chapter 5

**Hi! I hope you like this chapter! LEARN HOW TO GET A SNEAK PEEK OF THE NEXT ONE AT THE BOTTOM OF THIS CHAPTER!**

The little girl inside of her wanted to open up the door and happily accept kind of parent figure into her heart but Skye had grown up a lot since then. Being an orphan, she had to grow up quickly. It hurt to know that all of the pain she'd gone through for the past 21 years was indirectly May's fault. That was the thought that kept her silent and May went on talking.

"I guess we'll just have to do it from here, won't we?" she said, almost to herself. May could tell that FitzSimmons and maybe even Ward were listening closely from wherever they were, but she decided that talking to Skye and getting all of this out as soon as possible was far more important. She waited momentarily to see if Skye would respond, but May hadn't expected anything, so there wasn't much silence.

"I-things were… you need to understand," May fumbled, unsure of how to begin explaining a story that she had never come to terms with herself. It was all fresh in her mind, as it always was and always will be, but every time she tried to start talking, her brain froze. "You were… I was. I… I can't," she stammered, fleeing to the cockpit.

There was silence in the hall as the eavesdroppers saw what happened. Fitz, Simmons and Ward all looked at each other, alarmed to see so much emotion from the Cavalry. "Oh my god," Simmons said quietly, moving closer to Fitz without realizing. Internally, Ward rolled his eyes at FitzSimmons and how oblivious they were, but he didn't say anything because he knew Skye came first this time.

"Can we do anything?" Fitz asked, assuming Ward would know.

"I want to go talk to her," Ward said bravely. FitzSimmons didn't understand why Ward looked so wary. He never cared about bombs or hurting people. The difference was that he cared about Skye.

"Skye," Ward said softly. From inside, Skye sat up just a bit, hearing a more welcome voice, but she didn't say anything. It hurt her to reject people like this, but it hurt more to be rejected. On her own, trapped here forever, no one could hurt her.

"She won't answer," Ward said angrily to a concerned pair of scientists.

"Come on," Simmons said kindly, "Let's leave her alone for a bit. I'm sure she'll want to see you later."

Ward nodded but he felt sad inside. Skye was the only thing he thought about, even before all of the drama. For whatever reason, he thought she might like him too, might trust him enough. That was a dumb thought, he told himself, and she doesn't trust you. She doesn't care about you. You're just making things up. Why couldn't the dreams and fantasies be real? That thought was on both Skye's and Ward's minds. Skye, who had dreamed of the perfect family and Ward, who dreamed of Skye.

Skye woke up in her bunk a few hours later, convinced that the last few hours had just been a sick dream. It was only when she was about to open the door that she realized it had all actually happened, all of her dreams and nightmares had actually come true. She realized because she saw a small letter that had obviously been shoved under the crack in the door. Warily, Skye picked it up and looked inside.

_There are things that hurt too much. Moments that I just can't speak of. If I try, my head stops it and my throat closes and my eyes tear up. But you deserve to know. I will try to tell you the whole story, but even now it hurts. But I've written and rewritten this letter four times._

_ You've heard the story of the Cavalry. This story starts right after. I was-_

Skye paused. The ink was smeared here, as if by tears. She went on, trying to decode the letter and understand it as quickly as she could.

_-at the medics. We were all wounded and needed checkups. I was told there that I was pregnant. I was afraid. I was scared to death. I didn't want anyone to know so I left, took a nine month vacation. Everyone assumed I was traumatized by the events in the battle before but this was different. _

_ I had you and, I swear, I wanted to keep you but I knew I couldn't be a mother. I'm still unsure. I wanted to give you a better life than you could have had with me. I never dreamed that I would someday meet you. Now that I have, I want to say that I'm so proud of everything that you have done. I want to say that I'm sorry for everything that you've gone through and I want you to know that you can ask me anything and I'll find a way to answer it._

Skye could barely make out the words because of the spilled ink and her tears mixed with her mother's but she knew that she had to make a decision now. Did her parents love her? Could this work? How long would she be able to shut everyone out?

**I hope you guys all liked this chapter! I'm going to give you all a sneak peek into the next chapter if you answer the following questions in the comments:**

**1 Did you like this chapter?**

**2 What time do you usually go online to read fanfiction? (I'm trying to figure out the best time to update)**

**3 Something I do well/something I should work on?**

**4 Plot suggestions?**

**5 Character critiques?**

**6 Favorite and least favorite part!**

**THANKS! PLEASE REVIEW, FOLLOW AND FAVORITE**

~ Anna


	7. Chapter 6

**Hi guys, it's a new chapter! (If you got the sneak peek that was only half of the actual chapter)! **

I've got to deal with her, Coulson thought, as he lay awake late at night. Coulson was afraid, a feeling he hadn't felt in a long time. He had never known, for all twenty one years he never knew about her. How could May have kept this information from him for so long? It was his daughter, too. Didn't he deserve to know just as much as she did? When did this even happen?

Sighing deeply, he rose and left his bed to find Skye. He went towards her bunk first, knowing she had not left there since she had gotten the news. As he went down the hallway he could hear voices coming from inside, Skye's and Ward's.

"I sort of wish that I didn't know," Skye said, sniffling and obviously crying. "I dreamed that I would find my folks and they would be all happy to have me, not afraid of me or trying to keep everything from me. It was a stupid thing to think, but now I know I'll never have any kind of parents."

"You've got me," Ward said quietly. Coulson was bewildered, feeling hurt by what his daughter had just said. Inside, Skye settled in beside Ward, almost sitting on top of him. Ward felt his heart flutter inside his chest. He felt chills whenever Skye touched him so this, this was so much better. Ward wished that he could kiss her and they could have a little bit of… fun tonight. Her body against his made him wish they could do so much more. However, that would be inappropriate at a time like this and Ward was just glad that she trusted him enough.

"You're comfy," Skye laughed softly. "You're so warm and muscle-y."

Coulson could tell what was happening. It made him very mad. What the hell was Ward thinking, getting with his daughter? He made a promise to himself that he would kill Ward a thousand times if he did anything to hurt his daughter. He knew that before he could do anything to his daughter's boyfriend, he'd have to talk to his daughter first. He saw that the door to Skye's bunk was half open from when Ward entered. Self-consciously, Coulson put his hand on the door and pushed it open fully. Until the moment that the door opened, Ward had been in a position somewhere in between sitting and lying which looked rather uncomfortable. However, his daughter was laying on top of Ward's chest, sound asleep. Coulson looked down at the scene for a few seconds before breaking the peace.

"Ward, May needs you for something," Coulson said quickly, he hadn't thought he would need a way to get Ward away but he was happy with his quick thinking.

Skye woke up quickly when Ward moved to leave. Her eyes looked tired and she made to close the door as he left but Coulson caught it. "We have to talk," Coulson said, sitting down next to her. Skye flinched slightly but didn't move away.

"I know you're mad at me," Coulson began, not able to look at his daughter. He tried to think of something to say after that but he fell silent, looking down at the floor, trying to think of a way to explain.

"Oh, oh really?" there was sarcasm dripping from every word Skye said. "You think I might be just a little mad?"

"There's a good reason, let me just explain," he started slowly.

Skye fell silent. Coulson was surprised that she didn't immediately start talking. She looked so dejected, leaning on the corner wall with her knees pulled up to her chest and her arms around them.

"Why didn't you want me?" Skye asked quietly, so quietly that if the rest of the world hadn't been totally silent, as it was at this moment Coulson wouldn't have been able to hear it. But he did. To him, these words were the one question that he knew he would have to answer. It was the question that had haunted him in his sleep. He had even practiced in front of a mirror, trying to find a way to explain it.

"I didn't know," he said, just as quietly.

"You… what the hell do you mean 'you didn't know'?" Skye said, her voice slowing rising to the volume of a normal whisper.

"The whole Cavalry thing happened. May took a long time off. That must've been when she had you. I never knew you were mine until she told me," he stopped, looking at Skye, who looked upset. Skye wasn't sure what to think. She was mad at everything right now, she was mad at May for hiding everything from her and even Coulson. Although she couldn't quite explain it, she was mad at Coulson, too, for not knowing. Coulson took a deep breath before starting again, "But I want to be a father for you. I want to be there for you." He put his hand on Skye's and she didn't pull away. "I know it's late, but I'm ready to try if you are." Coulson noticed that Skye had silent tears running down her face but there was a small smile there, too. She squeezed Coulson's hand and nodded quietly.

**So what do you guys think about this chapter? IMPORTANT: IF YOU WANT TO GET THE SNEAK PEEKS, YOU DO NOT HAVE TO GIVE ME YOUR EMAIL, I'LL JUST SEND IT TO YOUR ACCOUNT. Okay, the questions to get the sneak peek of next chapter are:**

**1 Based on my writing, how old do you think I am?**

**2 I'm thinking about going into the backstory of other characters, what do you think of that?**

**3 How am I doing with the characters?**

**4 What would you think of a Christmas chapter?**

**5 What's your favorite part?**

**6 What's your favorite chapter?**

**Before I go, I just want to say thanks to everyone who follows, favorites and reviews! I started this story on Sunday and I feel like I've come so far and improved so much so thank you for supporting me! J**


	8. Chapter 7

**Hi everyone! I'm so, so, so sorry that this took so long! I have finals and I've been studying really hard. But they'll be done after this week, so I'll be able to update daily again! This chapter is mostly filler but it contains some important plot points and the next chapter is going to be really dramatic and everything. It'll probably be posted tomorrow or the next day.**

It was late in the night when Skye awoke. She found that her father was not next to her anymore. Skye remembered what had happened the day before and it was a bittersweet mixture. Of course, she had been devastated when they told her, angry at everyone, touched by her mother's letter, happy when she was with Ward and most of all, she felt safe with her father.

Skye reached across the room to grab her mother's letter and read it over and over again. She checked the time and saw that it was four in the morning. No one would be up or out of bed yet. She decided it was time to do something. She grabbed a scrap of paper from nowhere and scribbled a few words onto it. Hugging the paper close to her chest, she carefully pushed it under the door to May's bunk.

Little did she know that May was indeed awake, wide awake. May heard the soft crinkle of the paper as it slid under the door and ran to pick it up the moment it was within reach.

_Were you the one who dropped me off at the orphanage?_

May felt the paper in her hands, she looked at it so many times before breathing deeply and trying to create a response. For a long time afterwards, May would look at this little scrap of paper and realize that this very moment was when the mother and daughter finally started to look at each other in a special way. But right now, it was an opportunity. It meant so many different things that could possibly happen, both good and bad. Right now, in a way, May didn't want to look at the little piece of paper because it showed how wrong things could really go.

But she got out a pen and wrote quickly on the back of the paper, trying to figure out exactly how to explain everything in the right way. She spent nearly an hour trying to word everything correctly. It took another half hour to look down at it and to work up the courage to bring it to her daughter's room. She saw the door was fully open but there was no one inside. Quickly, May ran in and dropped the paper on the bed, wondering where Skye. May thought that Skye would sulk in her room without letting anyone in for at least a week. It's what I did, May thought, figuring her daughter had more Coulson in her than she thought.

May walked slowly towards the conference room, hearing voices and trying to decide if she felt like be social. In the end, she saw the whole team in the conference room and figured it would be a good idea to join them.

"Ah, Agent May," Coulson said as she entered, "We were just about to go get you."

"Well, now I'm here," she said, surveying the room. Coulson was standing in front of the computer table, with FitzSimmons on his left. Skye was standing on the other side of the room, with Ward's arm around her. May stood relatively close to Coulson and Coulson took a deep breath before beginning.

"There's been a problem," he finally said, he was dreading the next part, "and it's, uh, Miles."

"What?" Skye said, the word piercing the air as she pulled away from Ward. For a second, they could all see a slightly demonic look in her eyes that reminded them how strong she really was, even with all of the family problems she was going through.

"What about the bracelet," Simmons asked.

"He got it off somehow, I checked the feed and it's disconnected," Coulson explained, looking at his daughter quickly every time he had a chance.

"What the hell is he thinking?" Ward asked.

"What did he do?" May asked, trying to get everyone back on track.

"Ah, well, he hacked Shield again but this time he wanted to be caught."

"How do you know?" Fitz asked.

"Look," Coulson said, "He watermarked this on every document." Coulson pulled up a random file on the computer and the watermark said:

**Come and get me babe –Miles**

Skye was shocked. Ward felt her freeze up next to him. Suddenly, Skye was concentrating harder on remembering how to breathe and the breaths were quick and mechanical. Ward put his hand on her shoulder and Skye became more aware of the people around her, who were intently and shamelessly staring at her. She could practically feel Simmons mentally dissecting her brain. She took a moment to steady herself.

"I swear to god, I didn't help him or contact him or anything," she said, the words came out rushed. Everyone could tell what the words meant. Exactly what she said wasn't important, but it was the way her eyes silently begged the people to believe her.

"We believe you," Coulson spoke for the group. "And we need you. You know him, understand the way he works. We're going to send you in to talk to Miles and figure out what he's doing. We're going to have full surveillance on you and everything. You've proven that you're trustworthy and I don't want any more surprises about you. Because, I swear, if you do anything, if anything happens, you won't like the outcome."

"Okay," Skye agreed. She was scared, but she wouldn't let anyone know. She thought that she was done with him the last time. Just remembering her last time with him hurt. For years, they'd been in love, toughing it out together. They took pride in exposing things to the world, laughed when they beat the men in suits. They moved around a lot, every time someone realized where they were. But it didn't matter, because they were together. It was just the two of them against the world and they were winning. Miles was like a brother and a friend and a boyfriend to her. He was everything. He was her only thing. Until he wasn't.

It was a sunny day, so many years ago. The world looked perfect and it made everything that happened so much worse, because it seemed like everyone else, even the weather, was happy and she was the only one who was upset. She woke up beside Miles, as she always did. This time it was in a dirty motel that they'd been staying in for three days. But something was different this morning. Miles had his laptop and was working, but it was turned so that Skye couldn't see what was on it. This was so different from the usual morning, where they woke up casually and enjoyed each other's company for a bit and only started working after breakfast. And they were always together, they always, always worked together. Immediately, Skye had wondered what her partner in crime was doing without her. Skye had asked what he was doing and he had refused to tell her, making up lies. Finally, Skye threatened to leave if he didn't tell her. Fine, he said, so she left.

Her heart broke that day, as she took the white van and went off to LA alone. Miles texted her and called her and tried to track her down but it took her a long time to be ready to respond to him. She missed him but she realized on that sunny day that if he really loved her, he would've told her what he was doing and he wouldn't have let her leave. So she sent him one text, months later, just telling him she was okay and she never saw him again, until he got that guy killed by Centipede.

But now he's back, Skye thought. He's not hiding anymore. He's basically screaming at Shield, and more specifically her, to try to find him. Whatever trap he was setting, Skye realized, she was walking right towards it.

"Good," Coulson said, trying not to worry about what would happen to his daughter when she met Miles. She's strong, he told himself, and she can do it. "We're going to send you out in two hours, before Miles has a chance to do anything else."

"Alright," Skye said, she couldn't immediately tell that the words were hers, because they sounded so much calmer than she felt. This situation didn't feel real to her, she was afraid, hell, she was terrified, but she hadn't totally accepted that it was actually happening yet.

"FitzSimmons, you can set up all of the science-y stuff?"

FitzSimmons replied together, in different phrases that amounted to a yes.

"Good, you go get ready. I want to talk to Skye alone for a second."

Everyone quietly left the room, FitzSimmons were quietly figuring out scientific equations, May was lost in thought and Ward looked at Skye quickly before leaving.

"Can you do this?" Coulson asked in a demanding tone.

"Yes," Skye answered quickly before she had a chance to really think about the question.

"I'm asking you as a father," Coulson said, reaching across the table to hold both of her hands in his.

"I can do this," Skye said, quietly but with strength.

"It's fine if you-"

"I can do this," Skye repeated, louder but without any of the power she had before, as she wasn't quite sure that she could actually do this. But something inside wouldn't let her admit weakness.

"Alright," Coulson said, feeling a mix of worry and sadness, "Go get ready."

Skye nodded and walked back to her bunk, seeing the paper she had left under her mother's doorstep. She quickly closed the door and sat cross-legged on the bed, looking at the note. The handwriting was neat but very small and hard to read.

_Yes. I was terrified. People were after me. They would've come after you. I had no choice, but I'm sorry._

Skye sat in that position for a long time, trying to imagine what could've happened to her mother. She tried to think of situations that would justify what happened. It was the first time since she grew up that she tried to believe that her parents were good people. Being an orphan, Skye grew up by the time that she turned fifteen. That was the year that she ran away with Miles and when she started to realize that her parents would never want her so she began to imagine all the worst possibilities and imagined that they were horrible people and that basically everyone was mostly bad.

Skye was about to write down a response when she heard Fitz knocking on the door. "Hey, Skye," he said awkwardly, "Are you ready to go?"

Skye took a deep breath and prepared for the worst.

**What did you think? The chapter was much longer this time! To get the sneak peek, answer these:**

** 1 Do you like that I'm bringing in Miles?**

** 2 What do you think is going to/should happen?**

** 3 What do you want Skye to ask May in the next letter?**

** 4 What's your favorite part about my writing style?**

** 5 Anything I need to improve on?**

** 6 How are the characters (Note: some of you have been saying that Ward is kind of OOC, but the way I think of it is that he doesn't think like a robot but he's just socially awkward and acts that way)?**

** 7 What would you think of me writing another fanfic featuring an OC? (It would not conflict with this one or affect when updates are posted.**

**PS: I'm going to have a Christmas chapter, but later.**


	9. Chapter 8

**HERE IT IS! So, I'm actually really excited about this chapter, as it introduces a new characters: Miles. Please review, favorite and follow! I've got more than 100 follows and I'm so happy! Let's get the favorite number up :)!**

"So, you found me," Miles laughed with the grin that used to make her happy, no matter what the situation. But today she stared blankly. Miles was not a super villain, and he didn't look it either. He had a funny smile playing around his face but it was the same one that he used to flirt with her so long ago. The place where they were meeting wasn't a big empty warehouse or a scientific lab, it was in the children's area of an overcrowded McDonald's.

"What the hell are you going after, hacking Shield like that? Were you trying to get caught?" Skye said, only a minute after sliding into the booth on the other side of Miles.

"I'm going after you, Skye," she could tell that he was lying.

"What are you really doing here?" she asked, trying to stare into his soul.

"I've missed you, Skye, I've missed you so, so much. Every day I think about you. You've always had your purpose in life, that thing you've gone after. For forever I've tried to find mine. It took me losing you – twice – for me to realize that my purpose is right in front of me," his eyes begged her to believe him but she had seen him lie to too many people.

"Fine," she said, knowing he wouldn't budge on this story so easily. "So what've you been doing?"

"The same thing we always used to do, just… watching the days go by, passing the time," he said, "It's much lonelier without you."

"Gotten into any more trouble?"

"Wouldn't you and all of the suit guys know if I had?" he asked, still smiling like an idiot.

Skye took a moment to just look at him, trying to figure out exactly how she could get the truth out of a man who never told the truth.

"I do care about you," Miles said, "I have always loved you. I should've never left you. You're beautiful and smart and you're like family to me, only better… because I can't bang my sister," he laughed. Skye gave him a look. "But that's… I'm sorry about that. The point is that I miss you. You're the only thing that matters. I love you," he said, "And I'll never, ever leave you. I'm sorry about everything I did." He reached his hand out to Skye's, which was sitting on the table. He held her hand and, for a second, she wanted to believe him and wanted to run away with him again. And then she saw it, peeking out from under the sleeve of his shirt. In a quick, swift movement she grabbed his wrist and pushed his sleeve down, showing the Centipede gadget that was attached to his forearm. She stared at his arm as he stared at her.

"I knew it," Skye groaned internally, knowing he had to be lying. Just a little upset that the only time he would admit he loved her was when he was trying to get something out of her.

"Skye, this thing on my arm doesn't change my feelings for you," Miles tried to say.

"You apologized," she said, becoming more flustered, "You said you were sorry-"

"And I am!"

"No," she was getting angrier and sadder, "You've never said that to me. Never."

"Skye, I'm trying to be a better person for you. I returned the money, the money that I got from hacking that Chan guy. I did that for you."

"And then you went and joined up with them!"

"Skye, this is going to change my life and it can change yours too, if you come with me."

"Miles, you don't understand," said Skye, starting to panic now, "They're evil, truly evil, you'll explode or they'll kill you or something!"

"You don't know what it's like inside. In the belly of the beast… it's surprisingly un-beastly," he smiled, both of them remembering their last time together.

"What do you want with Shield?"

"I don't give a damn about Shield. I want you."

"Give it up," Skye said, "Whether you tell me what you're doing now or later, the good guys will always win in the end."

"Does that make me the bad guy?" Miles grinned, laughing softly.

"The good guys don't hurt people or lie or do any of the things you do."

"What happened to all of the lies we told, you and I together? What about all of the times we stole or did things that ended up hurting people in the end? Does that disappear now that you've joined the heroes?"

"It's different – I'm different now. It was another girl who did all of those things," Skye said, Miles could tell that she was trying to convince herself now and that was a weakness of hers.

"But that other girl – her name is still Skye. It doesn't matter if you've changed now because what you and I did, that'll follow you until you die. Hell, that'll follow you even after you die. Unless you can escape."

"Are you telling me that you've found a way to escape the things we did?"

"That's exactly what I'm saying, Skye."

"How?" Skye said, her voice showing just how curious she felt.

"Sometimes," Miles said slowing, moving his fingers around the table in small circles. "You have to fall deeper down the rabbit hole to find Wonderland, get my drift?"

Skye stared at him silently, wondering what he meant. Did he mean that doing more bad things let him escape… because it sure sounded like that? It didn't make sense… he didn't make sense anymore.

"A deeper hole is more comfortable…"

"I get it," Skye said, more because he was scaring her.

"Good," said Miles laughing like normal. "I hope to see you soon." He stood up and bowed deeply and comically before taking Skye's hand and kissing it lightly. He stared at her blankly for a long time before giving her a second kiss, this time on the cheek. After that, he left Skye, who looked terribly baffled sitting in the booth, with kids screaming and laughing around her. She hadn't noticed the kids before, the only thing she could look at or think of was Miles. What the hell was he talking about, deep holes, Wonderland?

Was he insane? Skye had never wondered this before. But then again, he was so weird and so different. And he was part of Centipede! What had they done to him? Where was her Miles? Where was the only man that she had ever felt comfortable with? Where was the man she longed for in the night when she had nightmares? What truly happened after she left for LA and after she left the second time?

**What do you guys think? Please, please, please review! I can't even tell you how happy reviews make me! For the sneak peek of next chapter, answer these questions:**

**1 What do you think of the story?**

**2 What do you think of the chapter?**

**3 What do you like/dislike about Miles?**

**4 What do you think that the team's reaction to this scene should be?**

**5 Letter suggestions for Skye/May?**

**6 Suggestions on team member's backstories?**

**7 What do you like/dislike about my writing style?**

**8 Would any of you like to have a kik chat with me (if you do, leave your kik name or something)?**


	10. Chapter 9

**Sorry that this took so long to upload! But it's here now and finals are over so I'll be able to update regularly again!**

"So, what's it like up close?" Simmons asked excitedly, practically skipping around the laboratory. Fitz rolled his eyes and Skye laughed. No matter how many times Fitz told her not to, his partner always got far too excited about the science of situations that were almost always life threatening.

"It's, I don't know, it's what you'd guess it would be. You've seen the pictures, right?" Simmons nodded and Skye continued, "It's just like that. It's all… glowing and stuff."

It was Simmons' turn to roll her eyes. "Hey, high school drop out here!" Skye protested, noticing the scientists' expressions. "Don't expect me to be all science-y!"

"Skye," Ward said, entering the room, "Coulson wants to talk to you."

Skye nodded quickly, her stomach clenching for just a second before she hopped off of the table she had been sitting on. The lab door shut and the pair of scientists expected Ward to leave after her but he didn't. They began working again but awkwardly and silently.

"What happened… with her and Miles?" Ward asked as expressionlessly as he could. Simmons smiled down at the lab table, knowing that Ward was jealous.

"Well she talked to him," Fitz began.

"And nothing really happened," Simmons continued, "He seems kind of… evil. I really don't think she loves him anymore."

"Good," Ward said, nodding. Simmons grinned. "Because he's a really bad guy who could,"

"It's okay," Simmons said enthusiastically, "It's nice that you have a little crush. You should tell her, maybe she likes you, too."

"I don't – I don't like her."

"Right," said Fitz. He and Simmons looked at each other for a split second before going back to work.

Ward left the room, mostly because he could feel the smartness in the air and it was starting to give him a headache. This was not the time for headaches, he felt, this was the time for figuring out exactly what he felt and what everyone else thought about him… and Skye.

Showing his emotions was never something that was easy for him. Believing in people was a long shot as well. He had been hurt too many times that it was just easier to become self-sufficient. It saved him a lot of pain. But lately, something in the back of his brain told him that not needing or accepting anyone made him miss out on the fun moments in life.

It all started with Maynard. He was abusive and horrible and scared the shit out of any kid he passed. Grant's mother was never around much. Maynard scared the shit out of her too. His mother was always off trying to find some treatment for her son or crying hysterically or drunk. Sometimes it was all three. Regardless, Grant was alone, but he was weak and afraid not hateful.

It was the day that his father left the unstable family that Grant truly felt broken for the first time. But, with everything that had happened, he tried to believe that there was some justifiable, good reason for his father to leave. He did not want to hate anyone, not even his father. He never knew where his father went but he never wanted to find him either. He was afraid that seeing the deserter would just make him madder than ever and he already found it hard to control his anger.

There were times when Grant wasn't alone. His little brother, Alex, was with him. For a few years, they braved the rage of their older brother together. Together, they were strong. But everything changed at the well. The family was off on a picnic together (just Grant, his mother, Maynard and Alex) but when his mother was distracted by a good looking single man, Maynard pushed Alex into the well near the picnic blanket. Grant had run to the rope by the well, about to throw it down.

But Maynard had looked into his eyes with an evil grin that never meant good things were to follow. Maynard threatened him just like before. Grant knew he would carry out his threats so he stood scared. Alex screamed for him but Grant was frozen. Maynard stood by the well and laughed menacingly as Grant watched his brother clawing and treading the water. Alex tried to hold onto the edge of the well but his fingers kept slipping and he coughed loudly, his face growing redder with every gasp. Maynard laughed one last time and walked away. Grant threw the rope down as fast as he could but by the time it hit the water, there was no one on the surface. His brother, his only friend, was dead.

So he ran. He ran away from his problems, from his home, from what was left of his family. He wasn't sure whether he wanted to or not but his feet carried him, going faster and faster as his legs fought with the part of his brain that wanted to stay with his family. For a few days, a young Grant Ward stayed in the shadowing, sleeping in the alleys and trying to convince himself that this would work out and that he'd be living a better life.

But he returned. After less than a week, he was tired of running through the streets, alone and helpless, stealing morsels of food to scrape by. He felt weak, truly, terribly weak. Somehow, being alone made him feel much worse than anything that his brother had ever done.

So how could Skye have been alone for so long? How did she bear it? She was stronger, in some ways, she was stronger than he was. Less than a week alone and I broke, Ward thought. It was the small things about Skye, the things that kept him guessing, that intrigued him most about Skye. Looking at her pretty face and her bubbly expression he knew there was a lot more to figure out about the real Skye. But he was okay with that.

Skye knocked on the door of her father's office quietly before entering.

"What happened," Coulson asked softly, meaning for his daughter to sit down in the chair across the desk from him.

"You heard the whole conversation."

"What happened in here?" he asked, gesturing to her head.

"I – I knew that he didn't care about me before I even started talking. I never wanted to abandon you all, I promise."

"There's always a moment where you question whether you're on the right side. When was that moment?" Coulson said, staring at her and holding her hand. Skye hadn't realized this, but it felt comforting.

"It was," she began, her voice choking up for just a second but she continued, "He said he loved me. I know it was stupid and I knew he was faking but I wanted to believe it. I promise, I never truly wanted to run away with him. It was a second…"

"I'm glad that you chose us," he said lovingly, "I couldn't lose you again."

"You were the one that left me in the first place," Skye reminded him, getting up quickly.

Coulson fell back into the rolling chair as his daughter left. Things had been going so well, but he'd been an idiot. He'd messed it up. Coulson felt like his world had been turned upside down when he received the file. He realized that he had a daughter, that it was Skye, and that May had kept this from him. He'd tried to be fatherly but it was hard and it always felt so awkward and mechanical. With all of his heart, Coulson wished that he could be the perfect father, the man at the School Board Meetings, a dad at the Daddy-Daughter dances or, if that wasn't possible, a father, a real, loving father.

Skye wasn't sure what to feel. She would usually be upset. She'd flop down on the bed and daydream for hours until she had to use the bathroom or got really hungry. She'd wish to find her parents. That's what she did before she actually found them. It had been her purpose… Miles had said that. That desire and that quest had kept her moving but now the road ended. She had finally found them. When she was little, she had always imagined a moment like this being one of her happiest. But it wasn't. She wasn't upset with her parents anymore but she felt like she had nowhere to go. There was nothing that she was really working for.

She sat down on the bed, lost in thought. It took a while before Skye realized that she had been sitting on a pen. Inspired by her find, she grabbed a piece of paper and held the pen on it, trying to think of a question. It took her awhile to complete her thought but when she did, she wasted no time in running to May's bunk and sliding the note under the door.

"Dammit," Ward cursed grabbing Skye's hand and speed walking, pulling Skye behind him. Both people felt soft chills before determining that it was a serious situation. "The Hub has fallen."

"What?" Skye ran to stand in front of him.

"Centipede has control of the Hub!"

**Did you like this chapter? Answer these questions to get the sneak peek and to ****_have your OC featured in the next chapter_**

**1 Rating of this chapter (1-10)**

**2 Thoughts on Miles (a lot of you said that you hate him. Can you be more specific? Do you dislike that he's kind of an evil guy or the way that I'm writing him?)**

**3 Thoughts on my characterization**

**4 Thoughts on the way I'm developing the ships**

**5 Letter suggestions for May and Skye**

**IF YOU ANSWER ALL OF THESE QUESTIONS, ALSO INCLUDE A DESCRIPTION OF YOUR OC. I WILL USE ONE OC FOR A SMALL PART AS A SHIELD AGENT WHO WORKS AT THE HUB! I WILL ONLY CONSIDER YOUR OC IF YOU ANSWER THE 5 QUESTIONS.**


	11. Chapter 10

**HI GUYS! I'm so, so, so sorry that this is so late. My excuses are: writer's block, personal drama and holidays. I know that they're not very good excuses and that this chapter should have been out long ago, but, at least it's out now. I did add as many of your OCs as I could. Some of them have been changed from your original suggestions. I'm sorry, but I needed certain personalities to create the story.**

* * *

"The Hub has fallen," Coulson announced loudly to the group standing around the conference table.

"How did the hub just – fall?" Skye asked, looking half baffled, "I mean, it's like the central piece of everything. How could they have taken it down without anyone knowing to fight back?"

"I don't know," said Coulson severely. He looked down at his feet for second before saying quietly, "Didn't date the bastard who did it."

"Hey," Ward said, louder than he meant to. "It's not her fault. She's been helping us and she's been damn trustworthy."

Skye felt herself blushing slightly. It felt kind of embarrassing but great at the same time – that Ward wanted to stand up for her and all. She smiled up at him for a second before her father addressed her.

"I'm sorry, Skye. We're just all stressed out over this. You're right, it should be impossible to take control of the Hub."

"I'm still a bit confused," Fitz admitted. "What do you mean by 'take control of the Hub'?"

"They got into the computer systems. I'm not sure how much damage has been done yet, but every door is locked and it's impossible to make contact with anyone inside."

"Do you think Centipede is inside?" May asked.

"We'll just have to see," Coulson said, shaking his head worriedly. "Alright," he said, coming back to reality. We're going to have to split up. FitzSimmons, you'll be monitoring operations. May, you and Skye will go straight to the control room. Skye, as soon as you get there, you have to disable whatever Lydon did. You learned from him, so you should hopefully be able to understand what the hell he's doing. Ward, you and I will make sure that everyone in the building is okay. Everyone understand?"

The occupants of the room nodded and headed off to get ready.

AoSAoSAoSAoSAoS

"Oh, I hope that everyone is okay in there!" Simmons said quietly, tightly curling a lock of her hair around her index finger.

"Jemma, don't worry," Fitz said, the words soothing his own nerves as well. Fitz gently put his arm around Simmons and felt her flinch. He immediately made to move his arm away, embarrassed and turning red but Simmons, sensing this, grabbed his hand quickly and sat back on her chair, with Fitz arm around her and their hands intertwined.

"This is a nice change, Fitz," Simmons smiled, feeling content.

"A very nice change," Fitz was blushing slightly but was very happy all the same.

AoSAoSAoSAoSAoSAoS

Skye and May were running through long, empty corridors at top speed. This was a rather frustrating experience for both of them, as May had to constantly slow down to keep up with her daughter and Skye felt like she was going to faint from this much physical activity. She had never guessed that the Hub was such a big place. It looked huge from the outside and it looked huge from the inside, but there is so much there that people or things don't have to be hiding to seem hidden.

It seemed like a very long time before Skye and May finally got the control room door. Breathing heavily, Skye opened it and took a good look at the room. There were a lot of computers, all in neat rows. In the front of the room, one big screen covered the large wall. With all of her remaining breath, Skye ran to the computer that controlled the big screen. May stood in the doorway, taking it in turns to look at Skye and out into the hallway.

Password, Skye thought, what could it be? This was Miles. He was doing it. Skye knew him better than anyone else, so she figured that if anyone could crack his password, it would be her. So, she decided to try everything. She started with the passwords that she knew he used, back when they were together and Rising Tide hackers. None of them worked. She started trying everything that she knew about him, his middle name, his dog's name, everything. Still, nothing.

"What's going on in there?" May whispered.

"I'm trying to guess the goddamn password!"

"You are supposed to be a hacker," May said softly. It felt aggressive, even though she didn't raise her voice above a loud whisper. "Shouldn't you have cracked the whole system by now?"

"If it had been anybody else, I would've cracked it!" Skye said defensively.

"Skye, you have to get that fucking piece of, whatever, to work or everyone here is in trouble!"

"I know that!" Skye said. "Do you think that I don't care about everyone here as much as you do? I know what I have to do and it'd be a hell of a lot easier if you weren't accusing me."

May rolled her eyes and turned herself to face the door. Skye breathed in angrily for a second before going back to the computer.

AoSAoSAoSAoS

"Agent Coulson! Agent Ward!" the pair turned quickly. This tall, thin man running towards them was the first human, other than their team, that they had seen since entering.

"Agent Jeffrey Tyler," the agent explained, pointing to a badge on his chest. "I'm just I.T., you've probably never heard of me." He pursed his lips together, "But, uh, what the hell is going on, if you don't mind explaining."

"Someone has control of the Hub," Ward said quickly. "Is there anybody else here?"

"Most people are gone. I guess they all knew about the thing with all the taking over and stuff and were able to get out. It's just me and a few other low-level people."

"Where is everyone?"

"In the infirmary."

"Let's go," Ward said, starting off.

When the three people made it to the infirmary, they saw three other people. An old man, probably in his late fifties and early sixties who was wearing a lab coat and was most likely some kind of doctor, was sitting on a chair, spinning around slowly and fiddling with a medical instrument that no one else in the room could identify.

"That's Doctor Fink," Tyler said. "And that's Lavender and Isabel."

Lavender was pacing around the room. She was worried about everyone she cared about here and upset that there was nothing she could do about it, other than sit around her and babysit. Ward looked towards and was surprised by her beauty. She looked like a model, with her dark skin and curly, long black hair. Ward took a moment to remember that he had a job to do, and that he had never even talked to this girl, let alone seen her for more than a few seconds.

Isabel was leaning against the wall, staring at the scene. She had long, straight, black hair that was pulled back in a red headband that matched the color of her lipstick. She also had very pale skin, making her look like a modern-day, 25-year old version of Snow White.

"So, uh," Tyler started, shuffling awkwardly. "What are we supposed to do?"

"All you need to do is stay here," Ward said.

"What?" Lavender said, stopping to stare straight at Ward. "Someone bad has control of the Hub! We're the only people you have. If you let me help you –"

"I – work – alone," Ward said, staring daggers at the girl.

"You're a fucking idiot," Lavender said.

"Stop," Isabel said quietly, putting her slender hand onto Lavender's arm. Immediately everyone stopped to look at Isabel, who obviously didn't talk much. Realizing the attention, Isabel pulled her hand back.

"She's right," Doctor Fink said. "We can help you."

"I know," Coulson said. "But you all have to –"

"Sir!"

"Ward, we're talking about all of S.H.I.E.L.D. We will use every agent we have."

"What can we do?" Lavender asked, grinning at Ward for just a second.

"What are your jobs?" Coulson asked.

"I.T.," Tyler said quickly.

"Great," Coulson said and Tyler smiled. No one ever appreciated the I.T. guy. "Skye might need you."

"I'm a field agent, well, training to be," Lavender said.

No one had to ask the man in the lab coat about his profession.

"I… don't know how to do anything," Isabel said, blushing aggressively.

"What do you mean?" Coulson said, moving closer to Isabel.

"I have an eidetic memory," Isabel said, not quite as softly.

"It's impossible," Ward said.

"Yeah, it doesn't exactly happen naturally," Isabel said, "But it does happen."

"Alright. Can you stay here with the Doctor?" Coulson asked, feeling like he was talking to a kid.

"Yeah," said Isabel, blushing just a little.

"Good. Lavender, Ward I want you to check around the building and make sure that there's no one else here." Both Ward and Lavender rolled their eyes and silently protested.

"Tyler, you and I will go to the control room and see how they're doing. Everyone understand?"

AoSAoSAoSAoSAoSAoSAoS

Coulson and Tyler arrived at the control room but were surprised and worried to find that no one was there. Coulson took the COMS device out of his pocket and saw the random digits running across the screen. He cursed quietly.

"What's going on?" Tyler asked.

"COMS are down."

Coulson showed Tyler the device and hoped that it was something simple that the I.T. guy could fix.

"God, I have no idea what happened," he admitted.

"Yeah, I have a feeling Miles hacked the COMS too. That guy is probably one of the best hackers in the world."

"How are we supposed to fight the best hacker in the world when he already has the advantage?"

"Well, we have my daughter, too."

AoSAoSAoSAoSAoSAoS

"Fitz!" Simmons squealed. "Have you fixed it yet?"

"No, Jemma," Fitz snapped. "This has never happened! No one is supposed to hack the COMS!"

"Oh, Fitz!"

"We've lost everyone," Fitz said banging his head onto the table. "We have no idea where anyone is or what they're doing."

"So what are we gonna do?" Simmons asked.

"What do you mean? There's nothing we can do."

"You have to stop being a coward!"

"I'm not being a coward, Jem. I'm being realistic."

"We can't just sit around here and be useless. I always feel useless. Now we finally have a chance to do something. I'm going in with or without you."

"Jemma, listen," Fitz said desperately. "The best thing we can do right now is get the COMS to work."

"You've already said that you can't fix them, Fitz. I'm going in. Right now."

"Fine!" Fitz said loudly, tripping as he followed Simmons out of the van. "Fine! What do we do now?"

"I don't know, I've never done this before."

"Jemma!"

AoSAoSAoSAoSAoSAoSAoSAoSAoS

Skye wasn't sure what had happened recently. It could have been a minute, an hour, a day or a year since she had last opened her eyes. She looked around and saw that she must be in one of the holding cells.

"Good morning," Skye turned quickly and saw Miles standing in front of the cell. Skye blinked a few more times, trying to take in the scene around her. As she had only been in the Hub one other time, she had no idea where this pocket of the building was in relation to anything else. It was brightly lit and featured the tight cell she was sitting in.

"What the hell is going on, Miles?" Skye asked, rubbing her head, trying to remember what had happened.

"I've got the upper hand," Miles explained. "Your team is useless."

"They'll come find me."

"They're playing with fire, Skye. But they have no idea. Do you get it, kid? They're sticking their asses right into the fire but they've got no idea how far down the rabbit hole they're falling."

"Wonderland," Skye whispered.

"Huh?" Miles laughed.

"Sometimes you have to fall farther down the rabbit hole to get to Wonderland."

"Ah, you finally get it. Too bad it's too late."

"Oh my god, I'm such an idiot."

"At least you got it in the end."

That was the moment when Skye saw Ward and another agent in the doorway. Miles hadn't yet. He was too busy laughing at Skye. Thinking quickly, Skye reached her hands out of the cell and grabbed Miles'. Miles froze. Skye smiled and pulled him towards her. Before anything else could happen, an angry Grant Ward ran into the room and grabbed Miles by the neck.

"Oh my god," Skye breathed, leaning against the back wall of the cell.

"Are you okay?" Ward asked Skye, still wrestling with Miles.

"Yes, of course," Skye said. "Thank you."

Ward nodded and kicked Miles in the head, causing him to fall unconscious.

"Lavender!" Ward turned to a girl Skye didn't recognize.

"Yeah," she asked, looking down at Miles.

"Guard him."

"Yes, sir," she said, saluting him.

"Come on Skye," Ward said, taking the key from Miles' pocket and unlocking the cell. Without thinking, Skye launched herself into Ward's chest and Ward hugged her tightly, feeling more content than he had in a long time. After breaking apart, the pair ran out into the hall and back to the control room.

"Thank you, again," Skye said, holding both of Ward's hands.

And they kissed. Neither was sure who had started it but it was passionate and each felt the tension, the stress and every worry they had ever harbored melt away in seconds.

* * *

**PLEASE READ. It's really important to me that you review for this chapter because there are so many different directions the story can go, based on what you guys like. If you review, I will send you a sneak peek of next chapter.**

**1 Did you like the OCs? (If you like certain characters, I will keep using them in the story)**

**2 What did you think of this chapter?**

**3 What did you think of the Skyeward stuff?**

**4 Do you have any suggestions?**

**5 This is a really dumb question and has nothing to do with the story but I'm curious: guess what I look like and am like in real life**

**6 There are many different directions this story can take. Which directions do you like best (ex: parents thing, Skyeward, OCs, Miles, Centipede… anything)**

**7 Pregnant Skye? (might not happen, IDK, what would you guys think?)**


	12. Chapter 11

**Hi guys! This chapter is actually on time! I posted a poll on my profile page (do you want the OCs to have main parts) and it is VERY IMPORTANT THAT YOU VOTE because I really need to know your opinion before I continue with this story. It will only take you a few seconds so please, please vote. (The polls appear at the very top of the profile page, it took me forever to be able to find it :P)**

* * *

May awoke slowly, trying to remember what was going on around her. As she opened her eyes, she saw the tall ceilings that could only be found in the Hub. The Hub! The thought brought back the memories of events that could have happened, seconds, hours or years ago. They were trying to save the Hub from Centipede… but what had happened afterwards?

Getting up quickly, May could feel that something in her leg was broken. She cursed under her breath. Looking around at the room again, she calculated that the infirmary was within limping distance, so she started off.

It was painful and slow to limp like this, clinging to the wall and hoping that the infirmary would be in sight soon, but May was strong and had gone through much worse. She felt like she could breathe normally again when she finally saw the door. She limped into the office and saw an old man in a lab coat sitting on a rolling chair. Other than him, she was totally alone in here. May cleared her throat a few times, knocked on the wall and even said 'excuse me' before realizing that something was wrong. She turned the chair and realized that she was face-to-face with Doctor Fink, who was dead.

"Oh god," May said quietly, as she gingerly hopped to a chair across the room.

* * *

"What do you remember?" Ward asked Skye as the pair walked down a seemingly endless hallway, unsure of where they were headed.

"I was trying to hack the system and then the next thing I knew, I woke up in that cell. Oh god – where's May?"

"You don't know?" Ward said, quickening his pace. Skye practically had to run to keep up now.

"We have to get to the control room. Miles basically told me the passcode."

"What do you mean?" Ward asked, grabbing her hand for a second as they turned a corner.

"Sometimes you have to fall deeper down the rabbit hole to get to Wonderland," she said simply, as if this explained everything.

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

"He keeps saying it to me. He even said that I had it right."

"It still doesn't make sense to me," Ward said. "But I trust you. Let's go. Quickly." Ward broke into a full run. Skye, panting heavily, followed behind him, trying to keep up.

* * *

"We should not have done this, Jemma. This is such a bad idea. What the hell was I thinking?" Fitz muttered to himself as he followed his partner around the building.

"Maybe we should go back to the van," Simmons finally relented.

"Right. Let's do that," Fitz said.

The pair had not gone in very far from the van, but they were panting by the time they finally reached it.

"We have to get the COMS back up," Fitz said as they slammed the back door to the van.

"Well, you're engineering. How do we do that?"

"We've, uh, tried everything."

"Then let's try it all again. Eventually something is bound to work."

* * *

"The COMS are up!" Coulson exclaimed. Coulson and Tyler had been scouring the building and had found no trace of life. They hadn't even seen anyone from their team. It was an understatement to say that the COMS being fixed was a huge relief.

"Yeah! Don't even know how we did it, but they just started working again!" said Simmons voice, coming out of the device.

"Is everyone on?" Ward asked.

"We've got a signal from everyone," Fitz said.

"Good. Skye, have you made any progress hacking the system?" Coulson asked.

"Uh, I guess. As soon as I got to the control room, I got onto the system and it's all normal. Whoever was holding the Hub must have stopped."

"Why would anyone do that?" Simmons wondered aloud.

"I don't like this," May said clearly. "An old man, probably a doctor, was murdered up here in the infirmary."

"What?" Coulson asked, in total shock.

"Yes," May confirmed. "Doctor Fink, by the looks of his name tag."

"Is there a girl there?" Coulson said. "Long black hair, pale…?"

"No. There was no one in here."

"Do any of you have her?" Coulson asked the device. No one answered.

"We have to find that girl," Skye said. "Miles could be doing something horrible to her."

"Miles?" Simmons questioned. "Where is he?"

"I left Lavender to guard him," Ward said.

"Let's all meet up there," Coulson determined. "Fitzsimmons, you stay where you are, obviously."

* * *

Slowly, the team started to appear in the designated room. Lavender was still there, sitting cross legged on the ground, watching Miles in the cell. Both people looked bored out of their minds but no one was talking.

"Right," Coulson said once the complete team had shown up. "Fitzsimmons, scan the whole Hub for life signs. See if we can find Isabel."

"Yes, sir," Fitzsimmons agreed simultaneously. "Other than you all, there is no one."

"Where'd you take her?" Ward asked Miles threateningly.

"I don't have to tell you anything," Miles grinned.

"We can make you talk," Ward said, smiling sadistically.

"Everyone back on the Bus. Tyler, Lavender, you come too. May, bring Miles," Coulson said.

* * *

About an hour later, everyone was settled into their positions on the bus. Miles was locked in the holding area, handcuffed to the table. Skye, Ward, May and Coulson were standing outside, discussing the situation. Fitzsimmons was in the lab and Tyler and Lavender were sitting awkwardly in the kitchen area, unsure of what to do.

"Let me talk to him," Skye insisted. "He trusts me… well, he used to."

"After all you've done, I don't think he's going to reveal anything to you," Ward said, "Obviously, meant in the best way possible."

"Ward's probably right," Coulson confirmed. "May and Ward, you go in. Skye, you and I will watch from the monitor in the lab.

"Fine," Skye said, rolling her eyes slightly.

Ward and May waited for a second, until after Skye and Coulson had left, to enter the holding area. When they entered, they locked the door behind them and made their way over to Miles.

"We have a few questions for you," Ward began, glaring at Miles, imagining horrific things that he could do to him.

"And I don't have to answer any of them," Miles said, looking down at the floor.

"I think you'll realize rather quickly that we don't appreciate your silence," May said her tone never wavering.

"What are you going to do about it?"

"I hope you realize that it is not always sunshine-y, even on the side of good. Just because we fight for the right causes doesn't mean we are not willing to take steps to get what is needed," May said stiffly. For a second, Miles' grin faltered but he realized this quickly and plastered another smile on before responding.

"I'm strong," he said. "I'm stronger than I have ever been before. Hell, I'm stronger than you, Muscles."

"Because of a bug on your arm?" Ward said. "In case you didn't realize, the guys with the bug on their arm tend to die in gruesome ways and not by our hand."

"I'm not just another crony."

"What are you then?"

"Better."

"How exactly?" May asked. "What do you have that makes you any more valuable to Centipede?"

"The sex," Miles joked. "In case your girlfriend hadn't let you know, I'm great in the bedroom." He said, smiling brightly at Ward.

"You really don't get it, do you?" said Ward. "People are dying, Miles. A lot of them are your fault."

"I'm not a murderer," Miles said, "I may not be God's gift to humanity, as you all are, but I don't kill people."

"Someone died today and that was because of you," Ward challenged.

"I joined Centipede because they're creating a super soldier. They're creating a single man who will be able to protect everyone. I'm working for the good of everyone. What are you working for, asshole?"

"I'm working for the good of everyone. You're not."

"How can you be so sure of yourself?"

"Centipede murdered that doctor! Centipede kidnapped that girl! They've killed people and you try and fucking tell me you're being the good guys!" Ward was getting very angry at this point. May put a hand on his shoulder, silently telling him to relax.

"You're saying S.H.I.E.L.D. has never spilled blood?"

"We're not going to discuss ethics right now," May said, glaring at both boys. "Where is the girl you kidnapped?"

"You still don't get it, do you?" Miles laughed.

* * *

** Usually when I finish a chapter, I say that I'll give you a sneak peek. If you answer these questions you will get not only a sneak peek but also a chance to give your opinion on a very important plot point. REMEMBER TO VOTE ON THE POLL IN MY PROFILE.**

**1 What was your opinion on this chapter (1-100)**

**2 Did you like my characterization?**

**3 What did you think of Miles?**

**4 Do you want me to continue to use the OCs (please also do the poll)**

**5 Do you have any suggestions?**

**6 Favorite/least favorite chapter in this story**


	13. Chapter 13

**PLEASE READ: If you got the sneak peek, it was changed a tiny bit from when it was first released.**

"Where is the girl you kidnapped?"

"You don't get it, do you?" Miles grinned, rocking the legs of the chair back and forth and banging his fingers in rhythm on the table to which he was handcuffed.

"This isn't some kind of game. This is real life and real people are in danger. If you want to do good, prove it," Ward said, almost threateningly.

"No," Miles said, still rocking.

"Leave him in here for a little while," May said as she got up to leave.

"I won't talk. Never," he said. Just the front two legs of the chair rested on the ground.

"See you soon, then," Ward grinned slightly as he strategically placed his foot in the way of the chair, causing it to topple. Miles swore loudly as the handcuff forced the table to fall as well. In the span of about four seconds, the table, the chair and Miles were all laying in a pathetic heap on the ground.

From in the lab, the whole team howled with laughter. Although Coulson tried to mask his laughter, the other three agents were virtually dying. Ward and May walked into the lab, followed by Lavender and Tyler. Immediately, Skye ran up to Ward and gave him a high five. Skye was still laughing and Ward shook his head dissaprovingly but couldn't hide a small smile.

"He's not talking," May said stiffly.

"Where are we supposed to start?" Ward asked. "Every time we get close to finding them, they move."

"Why do they want Isabel?" Skye said to herself. "Why didn't they just kill her? Why is she more valuable than the doctor?"

"Does it really matter why they took her?" Fitz asked, busy typing away at a tablet.

"Obviously, it matters to Centipede. There has to be a reason why they want her. If they just wanted anybody then they would have taken both of them. Or killed both of them. There's got to be some kind of logic to this."

"Well… she is female," Tyler said nervously. "And young and… most likely, uh, fertile."

"Oh," said Skye, sounding disgusted. "Oh… ew."

"What?" Ward asked.

"Another way that they could make a super soldier is by, uh, breeding one," Tyler explained awkwardly.

"That would explain why they wanted her and not him," Ward said, pacing around the room. "But why wouldn't they just use a volunteer?"

"That's the one part that I still don't get," Lavender admitted. "But it's honestly the best theory we have at the moment."

"Still doesn't help us track down where they are," May said.

"Yeah, but, uh, this should," Fitz said, showing everyone a tablet with directions and maps on it.

"When did you do that?" Simmons asked.

"I sent a drone out to follow them when we were at the Hub. I didn't tell you guys about it until now because I didn't know if it would actually work. However, it did. So, I've got the coordinates."

"Alright, team, suit up and get ready to go in," Coulson said as the everyone left the lab, headed in different directions.

In less than half an hour, the team had said their goodbyes to Lavender and Tyler, who were going to stay in the plane. They had packed themselves into the van and were welll on their way when the realization hit Skye. "Oh shit," she said, her face pale.

"What?" said Ward quickly and somewhat aggressively, processing Skye's worried look.

"Where were all of the other S.H.I.E.L.D. agents? Why were those four the only people there?"

"The Hub doors were locked so they were all at home trying to find a way in," Coulson answered quickly.

"So why were those four there?" she continued, beginning to freak out a bit.

"What are you getting at?" Fitz said.

"Fuck," May whispered under her breath. "Skye's right. Those agents had no reason to be there."

"Ah, god," Ward said, hitting his head into his hands. "There was no night guard."

"Yet the I.T. guy was still there," Skye said. "What if they're… working for Centipede too?"

"I'll bet Lola that they are," Coulson confirmed. "Did they have the bug on their arm?"  
"No," said Ward. "Which may mean that they're higher up in the ranks. No one who values their current lifestyle would put one of those things on their arm?"

"What about Miles?" Skye brought up.

"Enigma."

"So the Bus is now potentially in the hands of Centipede," Simmons recapped. "What are we supposed to do? We can't go both ways? We're about an hour away from both destinations."

"We've should go back to the Bus, right?" Fitz said. "There's so much stuff there that Centipede would want."

"This thing doesn't happen to fly at supersonic speeds, does it?" Skye asked hopefully.

"Sadly, no," Coulson said. "Skye, you've got your laptop, right? Lock down everything."

"On it," Skye said.

"I'm heading back to the bus."

"What about that girl?" Skye asked.

"What about everything on that plane?" May said simply.

"They could be doing… horrible, terrible things to her right now."

"Centipede has taken over the Bus. They may get files but they can get even worse. They'll find out everything about us. We have to prioritize sometimes. We can't do everything."

"Fine, whatever," Skye muttered, sinking back into her seat as she continued locking down the files.

In about an hour, the team, with weapons in hand, stormed the bus. Their guns switched targets quickly as they looked around, trying to find the two people they were looking for.

"Dammit," Coulson said, after they had checked every inch of the plane. "They're long gone."

It had taken nearly an hour to make absolutely certain that they weren't still hiding, as the Bus had been quickly and completely trashed. Miles had also completely vanished.

"What were they looking for?" Simmons asked.

"That could help us know why," Fitz continued.

"They sifted through everything. It'll take forever to find out what they took," Ward said, kicking moodily at a shoe that had been thrown carelessly on the ground.

"And we don't have forever," Skye said. "We should get going back to find Isabel. Like, right now."

"She's right," Coulson said as he, followed by Fitzsimmons and Ward, went towards the van. Skye picked up a few of her bras that had been thrown around the room as her mother watched her carefully.

"We've all got to be more careful," May said. "This is what happens when you trust people too easily."

"But what happens when you just shut everyone out?" Skye said, standing up to her full height, a few inches about May's.

"It's easier," May said, turning to leave.

"It's easier? Being alone? Because I've been there. I know that no matter what you've gone through, being alone doesn't help anything. It just makes you think about it more and it's nice to forget sometimes."

"It's better to remember," May argued. "Sure, it's painful but it gives you a purpose, a reason to fight. For everything you've lost."

"What about fighting for everything that you have?" Skye retorted.

"You're like your father in that way," May said, losing herself in her thoughts for a second. Skye felt herself tense up. Father was not yet a word that she would use to describe Coulson and wasn't sure when, or if, she'd ever be ready to think of him like that. "Always believed that love was a more vicious motivator."

"Yeah," Skye said quietly, awkwardly following May out to the van.

Two hours later, the team arrived in front of an abandoned warehouse out in the middle of nowhere. It was a desert setting, with only tumbleweed and sand to accent the large, grey building.

"Must be the place," Fitz said quietly. It certainly was a location where you could do practically anything and be completely ignored.

"Right," Coulson said. "Fitzsimmons, you stay in here and monitor the perimeter. Everyone else, follow me."

Taking a second to breath deeply, Skye composed herself properly and followed the well trained team into the building. As they felt their feet hit new ground, each agent took a few seconds to process their surroundings. The floor was a metallic gray color. The walls had probably originally been painted in a cream color, but it had obviously been long since this warehouse had seen repairs, so the color had turned to a dreary tan. The most frightening thing about this place was not the conveyor belts that still jerked a little bit every few minutes, the large ceiling lights that buzzed on and off randomly or the echoing sound that the floor made if one wasn't careful where they stepped, nor was it the dark corners that could be hiding anything on God's green earth. It was the omnious and dramatic blood stain that covered the dreary tan wall. Centipede had been here, that was certain. The biggest question at this point was whether they were still there. Another question, certainly a very important one, was whether or not they realized that the team was here.

Silently, the team decided to split off and check around the large room. Ward grabbed Skye's wrist protectively and walked quickly, with her practically sprinting to keep up, the floor echoing as her feet hit the surface.

"Dammit, robot," Skye hissed, trying not to cause any more noise.

"Sorry," Ward whispered, slowing down. Coming from anyone else, this would have been a throwaway comment, but Skye had never heard Ward apologize. Honestly, she had expected him to roll his eyes and run faster, the look daring her to keep up. As she thought about this, she realized that he was still clinging onto her wrist. His grip was uncomfortably firm now, but Skye didn't say anything because the heat of his skin upon hers was soothing.

"This way," May said quietly, pulling Coulson into one of the dark corners. Coulson looked at her worriedly. Had she seen or heard something that he hadn't yet. In seconds, this little mystery was solved. Footsteps. Loud footsteps that shook the echoing floor. This person was not sneaking around in the dark like Coulson's team. Whoever was walking so loudly was confident.

"Oh my god," May said, as a twenty-five year old girl with long black hair that complemented her strikingly pale skin enters, clopping with her loud heels and looking far too different from the scared young girl who Coulson had so easily trusted before.

**What do you think is going to happen? Okay, the questions this time are…**

**1 What is your favorite thing about this chapter?**

**2 Predict what's going to happen next time.**

**3 What's your favorite part about my writing style?**

**4 After this mission is over, I'm going to go into some fluff, so do you guys have any prompts that you'd like me to work into the story?**

** I'm really enjoying writing this and I hope you like reading it :)**

**Note: Since most of you didn't want the OCs to have a main role, they will not have a main role. Thanks for sharing your opinions.**


	14. Chapter 14

**Hi guys! Before I start this chapter I just want to say thank you so much for supporting me and reading my story. I feel like I've improved so much from just writing this. A year or two ago, I used to write a lot. However, I was really into some other things and so I just kind of stopped for a while. At the beginning of this school year, I got into Superwholock and Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and I started writing fanfiction. The first fanfiction that I've ever published is this one. I know that in the first few chapters, it's a little rough – meaning a lot. Luckily, I got better. I've been working on finding the right amount of detail, the 'show not tell' way of writing, characterization, dialogue and flow. Like always, at the end of chapter, I'll ask you guys a few questions and I'd really like to know what you think I've improved on throughout the story and what you think I should work on.**

* * *

"Oh my god," May said, as a girl with long black hair that complemented her strikingly pale skin entered, clopping with her loud heels and looking far too different from the scared young girl who Coulson had so easily trusted before. If it hadn't been for her unforgettably bright green eyes, he wouldn't have noticed that it was the same girl. She had even changed clothes, from a grey pantsuit to a short, pink bandage dress. Her face even looked different. In the flickering brightness cast on by the old industrial lights on the ceiling, her pale skin seemed to glow pure white. For a second, May and Coulson stopped breathing, waiting to see if this girl had realized their presence. They were so completely unsure of who this girl was now. Both agents figured that the ideal way to handle this situation would not involve being found in a dark corner by this enigma.

As the girl walked past, without checking for people in the shadows, both agents let out a deep breath. They took a second to stare into each other's eyes, trying to decide on a plan – silently. It was only a second, not long enough for anyone else in the world to notice, but for merely a second, both Coulson and May felt themselves getting lost in the gorgeous warmth of the other's eyes. It was just a second, but for much longer than a second, they felt safe and warm.

From the other side of the room, Skye and Ward had found a large pile of wooden crates and were checking inside the ones that they could reach. Even Skye followed the protocol on this one: carefully open the box lid, duck down for a second to shield yourself from anything that might explode and then check the contents, always with a gun at the ready. All of the boxes were empty.

"Maybe they're planning to ship something out," Skye thought, "Or maybe they've already emptied the box."

Ward didn't think so, the boxes had all been sealed, but he nodded in agreement with Skye for the simple fact that he had no better explanation.

"What if there's actually no one here?" Skye implored. "Like, I don't know, maybe someone else got the blood all over the walls."

"Right," Ward said, with merely a hint of sarcasm. "Who exactly leaves blood stains on the walls and has good intentions?"

"I'm not saying that they had good intentions, just that it might not be Centipede."

"That's actually quite a good guess," a voice rang out from one of the various shadows surrounding the room. Skye looked at Ward and Ward look back at Skye, silently confirming that neither one of them had spoken.

"I was kind of expecting a little more, actually," the voice said. It was female. She had an American accent, but a pretty one, with long, fluent words that reminded the listeners of the way one wave meets another on a calm day, just flowing softly. It was the kind of voice that a person could listen to for hours. Skye and Ward looked around again, the person who owned that voice was still hiding.

"I don't know, big bad S.H.I.E.L.D., couldn't have been a little more creative?" the woman, wherever she was, laughed a gorgeous, rich laugh.

"You've caused a lot of trouble, you know that. You've delayed my research and, honestly, I don't appreciate it." Casually, Isabel, her black hair swishing softly as she walked, stepped away from the shadows and reached her hand out for Ward and Skye to shake. The first thing Ward noticed was the nonexistence of a Centipede gadget. The first thing Skye noticed was the long, perfectly manicured nails that seemed perfectly capable of clawing a person's eyes out. "You know, it would be polite to shake my hand." Neither Skye nor Ward dared move any closer to this woman.

"Of all the things that big S.H.I.E.L.D. teaches, you'd think that they'd teach you how to be polite. I'm really surprised, Grant Ward. You, Skye, wouldn't know what the hell they teach at S.H.I.E.L.D. and it's not like you give a damn anyway. You joined their team – god, was it a whole year ago? I think it was. From the moment they picked you out of your little van. Right after your bad breakup. Remember your year in L.A., Skye? Because I do. You left Miles and went to the first place your finger touched as it opened the map. You got to L.A. and you fell in love again. Too bad that ended horribly as well."

"How did you know that?" Skye asked, a red color between embarrassment and fury on her face.

"I'm the clairvoyant, dear."

Without thinking, Ward grabbed his gun from his pocket and in a second, it was aiming for Isabel's heart.

"Oh, dear, no," Isabel pouted, click her heels on the ground as she walked a little closer to Ward. "We're not going to do it this way." The gun shifted a little bit to reach the target's heart once again. "See, Grant, I think that the way thugs and muggers do it is overrated, sloppy and stupid. But if you do not heed my advice, I will not think twice before I beat you up and string you to the ceiling, and I do believe that there is a nice big vat of toxic waste to dangle you above in the next room. I don't have to be your enemy, Grant Ward. All I want to do is... talk," she moved towards him and stood on tip-toe for a second to whisper the last word into his ear seductively. Ward moved away from Isabel and closer to Skye.

"About what?" Skye asked in the strongest way she could muster. She was firmly pointing her gun towards Isabel's chest and both her voice and her fingers shook a little bit.

"Oh, you," Isabel laughed, dramatically turning away from Ward. "I totally forgot about you. I would apologize, but I'm sure you're used to that by now."

Skye stood her ground, not moving a muscle except the tiny ones in her fingers that still weren't used to the gun in her hand. It seems that, for a few seconds, the whole world (or at least the area) stood still. Skye's brown eyes darted from Ward to Isabel. Ward could only look at Skye. Isabel examined the situation, trying to understand the odd relationship between these two agents. They were more than just partners. That was obvious – it was the look in their eyes, when the color got a little brighter. Isabel felt herself freeze, looking longingly into their eyes. It wasn't the look of two people who had never been hurt, it was more powerful. It was the look of two people who had been hurt before but were ready to put themselves at risk again because they loved each other. How long had it been since her eyes had glowed like that?

From their body language, she could tell that they weren't together – they would have been standing closer to each other. They were close, perhaps friends. There had been a smile, playing around their mouths, when she had watched them from the dark corner. It was the smile of people simply enjoying the company of another, Isabel recognized it.

"I'll shoot," Skye warned, gripping the gun hard.

"Don't waste your breath," Isabel said, trying to hide the pain that she felt. When you have both loss and victory... why is it always the loss that wins out in the end, no matter how big the victory?

"I'm not," Skye said. "I can do it. I've done it before."

"So, I guess we are going to play it the cliché, traditional way, aren't we?" Isabel said, laughing off the pain. "See you in hell," Isabel walked off into one of the corners.

* * *

**I had a lot of fun writing this chapter especially and I have to say, some exciting stuff is going to happen in the next chapter, I can't wait for you guys to see that one! Anyway, the questions are...**

**1 If you read my little paragraph at the top of the page, you know that I'm going to ask you: what do you feel I have improved on throughout the story and what do you think I should keep working at?**

**2 What was your favorite part of this chapter?**

**3 Which part of the chapter comes to mind when you think about it (like a favorite line or character or something)?**

**4 How would you rate this story based on the other stories on this site?**

**5 Do you have any suggestions or predictions?**

**6 What do you think of Isabel?**


End file.
